Like a Boss - Annabelle Costa Page 0,64

guard has materialized. He puts his meaty hands on his hips and gives us a stern look.

“If you have had your employment terminated, you’ve got an hour to clear out your belongings,” he announces. “Then we will be asking you to leave.”

I feel like I can’t breathe. I’ve got to talk to Luke. I’ve got to ask him what the hell he was thinking. And find out if there’s any way to stop this.

I’ve got to stop this. It can’t be too late.

“Just hang in there,” I say to George. “I’m going to see what I can do.”

“I’m sure there’s nothing you can do,” George says bitterly. I get a jab in my chest. His wife recently had a baby—he must be freaking out. “You should just feel lucky you didn’t get laid off too.”

But there is something I can do. George doesn’t know I’m sleeping with the CEO.

I race out of his cubicle and in the direction of my office. I can’t make this call in front of other people. Now more than ever, I don’t want anyone to know about my connection to Luke.

Except Nathan is waiting for me in front of my office.

“What the fuck, Ellie!” His eyes are rimmed with red. “Your boyfriend just fired me!”

Did he fire Nathan too? Oh God. Why would he do that? Nathan works hard—he’s not incompetent or a slacker. I wonder if it has anything to do with Nathan’s crush on me.

It’s obvious people overheard Nathan’s outburst and are watching us. “He’s not my boyfriend,” I mumble.

“Yeah?” His voice raises a notch. “Is that why you were going to his office to fuck him?”

My face burns. I can’t have this conversation with him right now. The longer we talk about this, the more people will overhear.

“I’m sorry about what happened,” I say as calmly as I can. “Let me see what I can do.”

I slip into my office and shut the door behind me. And lock it. I reach into my pants pocket for my phone, but my hands are shaking too badly to place a call. I sit down at my desk and take a deep breath, trying to get my shaking under control. Then I press the shortcut for Luke’s number.

It rings.

It rings some more.

Voicemail.

Is he serious? He just laid off half the company and he’s not picking up his phone? I know he’s not local right now, but I’m the one calling. His girlfriend, who he supposedly loves. He should pick up.

I hear the beep at the end of his voicemail message. My voice sounds strangled as I speak into the phone: “Luke, what the hell is going on? You just laid off half my company! Please call me back right away.”

I hang up and drop my phone onto my desk. I look at it, willing it to ring.

After a couple of minutes, I pick it up again. My hands are still shaking as I type a text message:

Please call me right away! It’s an emergency!

My phone remains silent.

Okay, I’m not going to panic. It’s three hours earlier there. Maybe Luke isn’t even awake yet. Although he’s only been there a day, so he probably isn’t adjusted to the time difference. And even if he were, he’d still be awake by now. But maybe he’s in a meeting.

I try calling him again. Voicemail.

I want to throw my phone across the room. I could make excuses for him, but something tells me this was entirely deliberate. Rita told me this was his MO—after a few months, he goes out of town, then lays off half the company. She was absolutely right. And Jenna was right to be worried.

Jenna…

I stick my phone back in my pocket and run out of my office. Straight to Jenna’s cubicle. She’s been having such a rough time lately, she’s going to be a wreck if she got laid off. I’ve got to talk to her. Maybe I can confess my secret to her and reassure her I’m going to help her get her job back.

But Jenna’s cubicle is empty. Her computer screen is black and the only thing missing is the photos of her family that she used to have pinned on the wall. I reach for my phone and click on her number.

No answer. I’m starting to hate my stupid phone.

“Jenna got laid off.” George comes up behind me, his voice breaking. “She ran right out of here.”

I swallow a lump in my throat. “Who else?”

George starts naming names. Half my team